The last stage necessary for the formal opening of applications for Portugal’s new work visas was completed this Friday (30). The decree with the guidelines for the document aimed at Brazilians and other citizens of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) was published in the Diário da República, Portuguese version of the Official Gazette.
The regulation takes effect in 30 days, but the effective start of the application processes has not yet been announced.
According to the text, applicants for the visa – which sets a period of 120 days, extendable for another 60 days, for foreigners to be hired – will need to prove that they have the financial resources to settle in the country.
The regulation requires an amount equivalent to at least three months’ minimum wage, currently €705 (about R$3,700). Those who do not have the amount of approximately € 2,115 (R$ 11.1 thousand) will still have the alternative of presenting a financial officer.
The latter, in turn, must have Portuguese citizenship or be a foreigner with legal residence in Portugal and must sign a liability waiver in which he undertakes to cover the candidate’s expenses with food, accommodation and eventual costs of removal from the country in case of irregular stay.
If they are unable to find a job after the stipulated period, immigrants must leave the country and can only submit a new application one year after the expiry of the previous visa.
Also newly created by the government, the visa for digital nomads and professionals who provide services to companies outside the country requires a higher amount: it will be necessary to prove an average monthly income, in the last three months, of at least four minimum wages, or € 2,820 (R$ 14.9 thousand).
Candidates for this modality can be freelancers or hired professionals, and must present documents proving employment or service provision. On all types of visas, authorities will also carry out a criminal background check — in Brazil and Portugal.
For Anna Araújo, a lawyer specializing in immigration, the changes represent a significant expansion of the possibilities of legal change to Portugal. “Our bet is that there will be a significant increase in demand,” she says.
In her opinion, although the process is simplified, planning before the application and the move is essential to ensure the smoothness and security of the process. “Portugal is a great place to live, but it also has its challenges.”
The lawyer also points out that the regulation does not eliminate doubts about the assignment of tax identification numbers (similar to the CPF in Brazil), Social Security and registration in the National Health System to those who obtain visas.
Foreigners often find it difficult to obtain the “magic numbers”, as the records that guarantee access to basic rights became known. “It is in the law that immigrants have to have access together with the visas, but the regulation does not foresee a deadline for the attribution. It would be important for the government to detail it more clearly”, evaluates Araújo.
The regulation also brings an important novelty for Brazilian students: the end of the requirement of proof of “means of subsistence” for the attribution of visas for higher education.
“It was a requirement that greatly limited the granting of visas, because many, in addition to paying an expensive monthly fee in euros, had to prove that they had high amounts”, he explains.
The new visas were approved by Parliament and are one of the government’s main bets to combat the shortage of manpower in Portugal. The country depends on immigrants for population balance and for the maintenance of the economy, and for years it has had a mechanism that allows the regularization of foreigners who enter as tourists and stay irregularly to live and work.
Although the processes are slow and bureaucratic, and can take at least two years, this has been the main immigration route for the Brazilian community, which has grown continuously since 2017.
Data from the Foreigners and Borders Service indicate that there were, until June, 252 thousand Brazilians with legal residence in Portugal. The real number, however, is much higher, since the statistics do not include those who have dual citizenship from Portugal or from another European Union country, nor those who are in an irregular migratory situation.
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